chemo brain. if you know someone who's dealt with it, then you know the frustration. tonight, we look at the science they're saying is behind the cause of it. and the breakup of the beatles. the woman who has always been blamed says in her own voice tonight, it wasn't her. "nightly news" begins now. good evening. she is considered the front-runner to become one of the most powerful women in the world. america's next secretary of state replacing hillary clinton. and after being hammered for weeks by republican critics over the benghazi affair, ambassador susan rice asked for a face-to-face meeting with some of her most vocal critics to make things better. the meeting took place today and appears to have made things worse.

so the partisanship on the benghazi issue is alive and well, and the question now becomes, will there be a showdown with the president over his friend and ally, ambassador rice? it's where we begin tonight with our chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell in washington. andrea, good evening. >> good evening, brian. susan rice, by all accounts, the president's top choice to replace hillary clinton, had hoped to mend fences on capitol hill. it didn't turn out that way. the u.n. ambassador hasn't even been nominated to be secretary of state. but today she volunteered for a grilling in the senate. her critics were not satisfied. >> we are significantly troubled by many of the answers that we got and some that we didn't get. >> the bottom line, i'm more disturbed now than i was before. >> reporter: rice acknowledged today she was wrong on a key fact, when she went on five morning programs and said benghazi was a copycat attack. >> what happened in benghazi was initially a spontaneous reaction to what had just transpired

hours before in cairo. >> reporter: there was no protest in benghazi, but she blamed the cia as she did last week. >> i relied solely and squarely on the information provided to me by the intelligence community. i made clear that the information was preliminary. >> reporter: acting cia director mike morrell accompanied rice today, in effect her wing man, but it didn't help. >> i'm more troubled today knowing -- having met with the acting director of the cia and ambassador rice. >> reporter: rice did persuade one senator. >> she said what she believed was true. and she was under no political influence from the white house. >> reporter: joe lieberman is quitting the senate and won't have a vote. rice and the president have a special relationship forged during his first campaign. much closer than his cordial working relationship with hillary clinton, the iconic secretary of state rice would be succeeding. the president has made it clear he will fight for rice.

>> if senator mccain and senator graham and others want to go after somebody, they should go after me. >> reporter: and today the white house was not backing down. >> the focus on, some might say, obsession on comments made on sunday's shows seems to me and to many to be misplaced. >> reporter: rice told the senator she wanted a chance to clear her name. but later, two of the senators she met with said they would still put a hold on her nomination. that's senate speak for blocking it. still, the white house is planning to fight for her, and senate democratic leaders say they can get her confirmed. >> andrea mitchell at the state department to start us off tonight. andrea, thanks. overseas today in cairo, a dramatic scene in tahrir square. it looked a lot like those furious protests we saw against former president hosni mubarak, driven out early last year. but today's anger was directed at the new president, morsi.

nbc's ayman mohyeldin is in tahrir square for us tonight. good evening, ayman. >> reporter: good evening, brian. hundreds of thousands of protesters were back here in tahrir square angry with president morsi for granting himself new powers. police used tear gas and rubber bullets, killing two protesters and injuring hundreds more. beyond the square, muslim brotherhood offices were attacked. the president is trying to diffuse the crisis, cancelling a rally by supporters. and promising to use his new powers in a limited way. people here don't believe him, in fact, it's only galvanized the opposition, who say president morsi is betraying the revolution becoming another mubarak, they vowed to stay here until morsi rescinds his decree. brian? >> ayman mohyeldin above tahrir square for us tonight, ayman, thanks. also in the middle east today, they took an extraordinary step to investigate an old rumor. they dug up the body of yasser arafat to see if he had been poisoned, and they're conducting tissue samples all over the

world now to find out. we get our report from our veteran middle eastern correspondent martin fletcher in ramallah. >> reporter: a grim day in ramallah, yasser arafat was reburied today after scientists took samples from his remains, seeking an answer to the mystery that began with his death eight years ago. was he murdered? palestinians may soon have an answer. labs in russia, france and switzerland will conduct separate tests of bone samples taken today. muslim clerics gave permission to open his grave. it was a delicate process kept out of sight. >> it was important for the palestinians to emphasize that no foreign hands touched the remains of yasser arafat, only the palestinians touched him. a matter of honor. the last time arafat was seen in public he flew to a paris hospital age 75 and sick. three weeks later he was dead. why? his wife refused an autopsy. rumors flew, aids murdered, poisoned, that's what many

palestinians believed. >> all the circumstantial evidence, all the political evidence indicate only one direction, which is mr. sharon. >> reporter: israel denies it. there was no real evidence he had been killed, until this year. the investigation was triggered by swiss technicians working with al jazeera tv. they examined arafat's toothbrush and hat and found traces of radioactive polonium 210. ten times more toxic than cyanide. the question now is, will they find it on his bones? >> the likelihood of being able to detect polonium 210 this long after contamination i think is very low. >> reporter: in that case, how did they find it on his clothes? the tests could raise more questions than it answers. yasser arafat, controversial in life, his death still a riddle. martin fletcher, nbc news, ramallah, the west bank. in this country and parts of this area in fact, life remains at a cold dark standstill for so

many after sandy arrived one month ago. and those looking for comparisons have wondered how sandy and the damage from the storm stacks up against what happened in katrina. nbc's katy tur is with us from the hard hit jersey shore tonight. katy, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. that is certainly the big question, up and down the new jersey shore, the aftereffects of sandy are still being felt. we're on long beach island. it's a barrier island, it's literally where the atlantic ocean meets the bay. and here, dozens of homes still look like this, their bottom floors completely washed away when the powerful storm surge came through. the last time kyle burns house looked like this was 1950, the year it was built. >> bed, couches, chairs, everything was just floating around. it was a mess. >> reporter: two feet of rushing water and sand soaked this third generation family beach home. with gas lines restored, the people of colgate on lbi are

finally allowed to come back. >> they're old. '78. >> reporter: as residents count their personal losses, state officials are looking at the big numbers. >> when you look at the damage done because of the density of new york, the number of people affected, the number of properties affected was much larger in hurricane sandy than in hurricane katrina. >> reporter: the power and devastation of sandy didn't compare to that of hurricane katrina, which took more lives when it struck the gulf coast. but sandy did do more damage in other ways. >> here's katrina, 300 miles wide at its time. it was an historic storm, especially storm surge. you could little rally take three katrinas and put them inside sandy, because sandy had a 90 mile wide tropical storm force wind field. >> reporter: and nearly three times as many people were affected by sandy than by katrina.

the governors of new york and new jersey estimate that just one month after the storm losses have topped $71 billion. that includes restoration and repairs already underway. compare those numbers to hurricane katrina in 2005, five states were affected. with 157 billion in restoration, reparation and rebuilding costs. and they're still counting seven years later. back on lbi, it's too difficult for kyle to think that far ahead. >> i'll just rebuild and move on. that's all. >> reporter: and kyle isn't alone. many others vow they'll do the same. the mayor of long beach island estimates the damage here alone could cost $1 billion. brian? >> katy tur on the strip of land the locals call lbi on the jersey shore. katy, thanks. the early estimates are in from yesterday, by the way, so-called cyber monday. the experts predict early on sales will be above last year. the most searched retail items so far this shopping season, kindle fires and ugg boots.

and a whole lot of people are anxious to win a pile of money. the powerball jackpot is now up to $500 million. and nbc's john yang has our report from chicago. >> reporter: these aren't just lottery tickets, they're dreams. >> we're winners this time. >> all it takes is $2 to win. >> reporter: as the hours count down to wednesday night's drawing, those $2 tickets are adding up. 42 states plus washington, d.c., and the virgin islands play powerball. officials expect ticket sales for the current jackpot to top $1 billion. >> thank you. >> reporter: many of those tickets are for office pools. >> we contributed our $2. so we're hoping to win. >> reporter: winning workplace pools often have happy endings like the eight nebraska meat packing plant workers, who in 2006 shared $365 million. the previous powerball record. >> i've been retired for about four days now.

>> reporter: for others, not so much. five new jersey construction workers ended up in court, winning a lawsuit claiming a colleague cheated them. >> you don't expect anybody to do anything wrong, but when people are tempted with money, you know, sometimes strange things happen. >> reporter: the chances of striking it rich, one in 175 million. statisticians say you're 33 times as likely to be attacked by killer bees and 50 times as likely to be struck by lightning. richard lustig claims you can improve your chances. he says he's won millions in the florida lottery, and has even written a book. his tips, buy as many tickets as you can afford and pick your own numbers, don't let the machine do it. >> it's all about what numbers? how do i pick the best numbers? what's the secret to picking the numbers? there is no secret. >> reporter: the odds may be long. but people keep hoping they'll be that one in 175 million. >> it's always a dream. always a dream. >> reporter: when they draw the

numbers tomorrow night, a lot of people will be checking their tickets very carefully. and maybe deciding whether or not to go into work the next morning. brian? >> now's your chance to buy for the office staff, john, nobody in line. go ahead. john yang in chicago covering powerball for us. still ahead as we continue tonight, cancer patients call it chemo brain. they can feel it. their loved ones can see it, and now for the first time scientists say they can too. and later, the stories we haven't heard until now. interviews locked away on tape for years. the beatles, the stones, the truth about each other at long last.

now to health news tonight, and what they now know about chemo brain, which will be familiar to you if you or someone you love has dealt with the frustration, fogginess and confusion among so many cancer patients, especially those in the fight against breast cancer. while patients have talked about this since the dawn of chemotherapy, scientists now say they can actually see it. our report from our chief science correspondent robert bazell. >> reporter: soon after she began her treatment for breast cancer, jodi, an author found herself in a mental fog. a condition known widely among cancer patients as chemo brain. >> chemo brain was like having my brain constantly out of focus. it was as though i couldn't get the words in the proper alignment. as a writer, that was devastating. >> reporter: the cloudiness

continued. even after the chemo ended. >> emotionally, i really wondered if i would ever be the same. >> reporter: in research out today, dr. rachel leggos adds much to the understanding of the condition. >> i have imaging evidence that shows chemo brain is real. part of being able to address a disease and help a patient through a disease is realizing the disease exists in the first place. >> reporter: the team at west virginia medical center performed brain scans on 128 breast cancer patients before, during and after chemotherapy. with these images to measure how the brain is using energy, the researchers discovered chemotherapy sets up very specific changes in several key parts of the brain that control memory and decision making. >> what am i going to get done today? what do i need to get at the grocery store? what am i going to have for dinner? >> reporter: increasingly, hospitals and doctors are trying to make patients aware of the problem. >> it is helpful for patients to understand they're not alone in this experience.

that this does happen to a segment of the population. at present we can't predict who's at greatest risk for them. >> fortunately, the effect usually fades with time. better understanding of the impact on patients like jodi may lead to ways to treat or prevent the symptoms. robert bazell, nbc news, new york. up next here tonight, the actual research about getting along with the in-laws.

veteran new yorkers didn't know what they were looking at last night. a lot of them were worried someone had gone and tarted up the dignified empire state building. it was the first display of a new array of lights at the very top of what is still the grand master of the new york skyline. last night's show was coordinated to an alicia keys song. the owners of the building say they'll use the new led lights to display various light

patterns from now on. we'll be watching. one of the most influential figures in american sports has died. marvin miller never played major league baseball, but he changed the game nonetheless. when he took the job as leader of the major league players union in 66, the minimum salary back then was $6,000, and the owners had all the power. by 1982, when he retired, the union was one of the strongest in the u.s. the average player's salary was almost a quarter million dollars. the players had won free agency. he was by any standard a game changer. marvin miller was 95. they often called him speedo, but his real name was mr. earl, earl "speedo" carroll has died. he was the lead singer of the cadillacs. as "the new york times" obituary put it, they were one of a cornucopia of street corner tight harmony groups formed by young black men in mid century harlem. put another way, they just made great music. songs like gloria and speedo. even though he was a famous singer, earl carroll took a job as a custodian at a new york

city school. for close to 20 years, the kids at ps-87 knew him as the star of their school. earl carroll was 75. men who are close to their in-laws are less likely to get divorced. this may seem like a common sense rule of the road to a lot of men, now it's science. this came out as actual research. men who remain close and get along with their wives' parents have a 20% lower divorce rate. strangely enough it's the opposite for women. when they're close to their in-laws the divorce rate goes up. the researchers say again, this is researchers saying this, that because many women interpret closeness with the in-laws as meddling by the in-laws. our friends at the onion recently named kim jung-un their sexiest man alive for the year 2012. today the story was proudly picked up by the people's daily in china. what they didn't know about the

onion, what we all know about the onion, the onion was only kidding. up next, yoko ono in her own words on the breakup of the beatles and those rumors because of her.

tonight we get to hear something for the first time. audiotapes being released tomorrow by the library of congress for all to hear. for music fans it amounts to something of a rosetta stone on tape. these tapes were recorded by a record executive named joe smith who once ran warner records while working on a book in the '80s, he conducted over 200 hours of interviews on tape. as you'll hear from the stars, they helped fill in some blank spots in modern music history. ♪ >> for starters, we get to hear ray charles explain why he can never sing the same song the same way twice. especially when people want to hear it exactly the way it is on the record. >> i sing, i can't stop loving you, true. i sing georgia, true. ain't no way i can sing georgia the same way --

>> a lot of the newly released independent views have to do with the stones and the beatles. mick jagger speaks candidly about the competition between the two. >> i think it's very competitive. it's a very competitive business. >> paul mccartney says the two bands actually got along in a sweet way. then goes on to talk about the fab four. mccartney who admits to a strong sense of commercialism gives a candid assessment of his mates. saying john and ringo had natural wit. george had seriousness. and ability. then mccartney talks about something else, drugs and sergeant pepper, the album that became to define the beatles psychedelic era. >> sergeant pepper owes a lot to drugs to pop. us getting into that. it was rather innocent compared to what you talk about these days, you were never sort of out of it on the floor in stones sessions. >> finally we hear from yoko ono, john lennon's widow who takes on a long lingering rumor once and for all.

>> i didn't break up the beatles. the beatles were getting very independent. john, in fact, was not the first one who wanted to leave the beatles. paul was the only one who was trying to hold the beatles together. but then again, the other three felt that paul was going to hold the beatles together as his band. it was an incredible period of un he was, in fact, delighted that he was out of it. >> yoko says ringo was the first one who wanted out. and as time goes by, consider this, the stones 50th anniversary tour is underway. and today would have been jimi hendrix 70th birthday. our time with you has come to an end for a tuesday night. thanks for being here with us. we'll look for you right back here tomorrow evening. good night.

right now at 6:00 we're tracking the storm. and new at 6:00, major developments on a lawsuit over the chevron fire. and a dramatic scene caught on a cell phone camera leads to an arrest. >> nbc bay area news starts now. >> good evening and thanks for joining us. i'm raj mathai. >> and i'm jessica aguirre. get ready for wind and rain. it will be soggy with rainfall totals of five inches expected and blustery winds that could have gusts topping 60 miles an hour. jeff ranieri is tracking the storm from the weather center. cheryl hurd is showing us what homeowners are doing to get ready, and kris sanchez is in san jose tw simple steps you can take to make sure your commute is safe for tomorrow morning. chris? >> hi there, jessica. the storms